Darwin’s began in 2004. Gary Tashjian is the founder. Arrow Reliance Inc. is the parent company doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. The operation is based in Tukwila, Washington. It operates its own manufacturing plant.
Darwin’s has a unique distribution process. It ships directly to customers. This controls the temperature during transport. That means Darwin’s pet foods are not found in retail stores.
For our Darwin’s dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
IS DARWIN’S A GOOD DOG FOOD?
Darwin’s appears to be a decent option for raw dog foods. Darwin’s offers 3 lines of dog foods. Natural Selections is made with free-range/pastured meats. It also uses organic produce. BioLogics is made with conventional meat. Intelligent Design is available by prescription only. It won’t be reviewed here. This prescription brand of raw dog food has a high ranking compared to most prescription diets. They lack quality ingredients. They also have safety concerns.
Darwin’s foods are minimally processed. They have low amounts of carbohydrates which is what you want to see in a raw dog food. There are no starches or grains in any of the recipes. This definitely minimizes the carbohydrate load. However, when it comes to fat, the duck and lamb recipes are quite high in fat. High fat diets can cause gut imbalance. This is especially true for saturated fats.
The company states it uses human quality ingredients. Until recently, human grade wasn’t a recognized term by AAFCO. AAFCO is the regulatory body that establishes guidelines for the pet food industry. It was strictly a marketing term. AAFCO has new guidelines for facilities producing human-grade pet foods. Among them, companies must have documentation. They must show that every ingredient and process is human grade. There is a break-in period of several years.
Darwin’s states its ingredients are ethically sourced. It also states its premium line is Natural Selections. The meat and poultry are from free-range, cage-free, or pasture-raised animals. But it should be noted that these terms have no official meaning under AAFCO rules. The company uses different sources for the BioLogics line. It uses conventionally raised meats, poultry and vegetables.
Natural Selections uses organic produce. This contributes to ingredients of higher quality. It would be nice to see organic produce used in the BioLogics brand. It scores lower due to pesticides and GMO ingredients. They would not be present in organic ingredients.
Darwin’s includes a vitamin and mineral mix in most of its recipes. It doesn’t list the content of this mix. It’s preferred vitamins and minerals come from whole food sources. They include the full spectrum of cofactors. That makes them safe and bioavailable. A couple of added vitamins are acceptable. But 5 or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value.
In most recipes, the company lists the type of fish used. The company uses wild-caught Alaskan codfish for its cod liver oil. In one recipe, fish oil is used but the type is unnamed. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry. Unnamed protein sources are of much lower quality.
Darwin’s doesn’t use pasteurization to control pathogens. It uses a lactic acid wash which is a process that doesn’t involve heat. It is applied to the surface of meat so it doesn’t affect nutrients below the surface. The company avoids using HPP (high pressure processing).
Darwin’s doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.
Darwin’s Natural Selections
Score: 9/10
Ingredient List For Turkey Recipe: Anitbiotic-free meat (74.64%):, turkey necks (including bone), turkey meat, turkey livers, turkey hearts, turkey gizzards, organic vegetables (24.66%):, sweet potato, lettuce, carrots, squash (seasonal), celery, parsley, special nutrient mix (0.77%):, organic flax seed oil, sea salt, inulin, cod liver oil (source of vitamin D), zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, vitamin E, manganese proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, iodine.
Darwin’s Natural Selections is a low risk raw dog food by our criteria. There are 5 recipes. They’re minimally processed and low in carbohydrates. They average 49% protein. They have low average carbohydrates of 2% as calculated. Darwin’s doesn’t use starches or grains in any of these recipes. The company claims its meats are from free-range, cage-free and pasture-raised animals. These are marketing terms. They have no legal meaning under AAFCO standards. Darwin’s uses USDA certified organic vegetables. There are no GMOs or high pesticide ingredients in these foods. Even with the organic produce, Darwin’s includes a proprietary mix of vitamins and minerals. It’s unknown exactly how many are added. Cod liver oil is from wild caught Alaskan codfish. Some of these recipes include unnamed fish oil, which can be much lower quality. Seed oils are also used, which can be high in omega-6 fatty acids, and lead to gut inflammation. Darwin’s doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods.
Natural Selections Benefits
- Minimal processing
- Organic produce
- Grain-free
- Low carbs
- No GMOs
- No high-pesticide ingredients
- Wild-caught fish
Natural Selections Concerns
- Higher fat in duck and lamb recipes
- Seed oils
- Unnamed fish oil
- Added vitamins and minerals
- No omega-6:omega-3 ratio is given
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviewsews
Darwin’s Biologics
Score: 8/10
Ingredient List For Beef Recipe: Beef (72.41%):, beef meat, beef hearts, beef livers, beef kidneys, vegetables (24.43%), sweet potato, lettuce, squash (seasonal), cabbage, parsley (vegetables may vary based on seasonality), special nutrient mix (3.15%), sunflower seed oil, cod liver oil, proprietary vitamin and mineral mix.
Darwin’s BioLogics is a low risk raw dog food by our criteria. It’s minimally processed and low in carbohydrates. There are 3 recipes. They average 53% protein. There are low carbohydrates of 6% as calculated. Darwin’s doesn’t use starches or grains in any of these recipes. They have squash and sweet potato. This raises the carb content slightly. Points were lost for adding vitamins and minerals. A proprietary mix of vitamins and minerals was used. They don’t provide a list so it’s not known how many were added. But there are no added amino acids. This means the ingredients provide sufficient levels.
These recipes have a few safety concerns. They use GMO ingredients. They have ingredients known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues. It would be good to see organic ingredients like in Natural Selections. They would eliminate GMOs and sprayed produce. Cod liver oil is from wild caught Alaskan codfish. This has a better nutrient level. But there’s an oil-related concern with some of these recipes. They use seed oils like flax seed and sunflower seed. They can be high in omega-6 fatty acids that can lead to gut inflammation. They’re also highly processed. Darwin’s doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their foods.
Biologics Benefits
- Minimal processing
- Grain-free
- Low carbs
- Wild-caught fish
Biologics Concerns
- GMOs
- High-pesticide ingredients
- Seed oils
- Unnamed fish oil
- Added vitamins and minerals
- No omega-6:omega-3 ratio is given
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
DARWIN’S DOG FOOD RECALLS
July 2022: Arrow Reliance Inc (Darwin’s) filed for a temporary restraining order against the FDA.
March 2019: Recall initiated by the FDA after products tested positive for salmonella. Potential for salmonella.
March 2018: Voluntary recall after FDA found that products tested positive for salmonella and/or shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
February 2018: Voluntary recall after FDA testing resulted in positive results for listeria innocua.
December 2017: FDA testing resulted in positive results for salmonella and listeria monocytogenes. Products were placed on hold and not distributed.
October 2017: Voluntary recall after products tested positive for listeria monocytogenes.
September 2017: Voluntary recall after products tested positive for salmonella.
June – October 2016: Voluntary recall after products tested positive for listeria monocytogenes.
Evaluation Criteria
These dog foods were evaluated and scored based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
We evaluate each food by these criteria. We assign a score using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to develop unbiased, objective criteria for dog owners. This will help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.w the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.